{"product_id":"king-pong-how-atari-bounced-across-markets-to-make-millions-9780262051330","title":"King Pong: How Atari Bounced Across Markets to Make Millions","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhy and how Atari's first video game \u003ci\u003ePONG \u003c\/i\u003eestablished an industry that shapes consumers' relationships to technology to this day.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003ePONG\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the longest- and most consistently circulating video games. Released in 1972, it remains at our fingertips as Android or iOS app, hosted at freepong.org and the Internet Archive, and even released as \u003ci\u003eA Tiny Game of Pong\u003c\/i\u003e for the Apple Watch. Despite its simplicity and ubiquity, Atari's \u003ci\u003ePONG\u003c\/i\u003e encapsulates far more than the history of a video game and an iconic game company. \u003ci\u003eKing PONG\u003c\/i\u003e is the first book dedicated to an unassuming game that changed the world. Through the prisms of product positioning, market development, and category creation, Raiford Guins answers the question of why Atari's inaugural product succeeded and why it endures. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author of \u003ci\u003eGame After\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAtari Design\u003c\/i\u003e, and an excavator of the \"Atari landfill\" in New Mexico, Guins brings us a unique history that reconsiders the launch of Atari's \u003ci\u003ePONG\u003c\/i\u003e through the lens of the company's business practices. He follows the young Silicon Valley startup from its early days of positioning its new product within the existing coin-op amusement industry to its establishment of a consumer industry for home video games--a story of remarkable market development innovation. Written with a passion for video games and a historian's insight, the book animates the business exploits of one of the fastest growing and most influential companies ever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Raiford Guins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262051330\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaiford Guins is Professor and Chair of Cinema and Media Studies in the Media School at Indiana University, Bloomington. A few of his books include \u003ci\u003eAtari Design\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGame After\u003c\/i\u003e (MIT Press). Guins also coedits the MIT Press's Game Histories book series with Henry Lowood.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Raiford Guins \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":47659122098333,"sku":"9780262051330","price":39.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_5990cc5f-a1f4-4c2e-9c46-f98eedeeea0a.jpg?v=1771350776","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/king-pong-how-atari-bounced-across-markets-to-make-millions-9780262051330","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}